AMERICAN INDIANS: why are the vast majority of them so fat? is it a genetic condition? or what?

Question

I would say that 90-95% of the American Indians that I've seen, are overweight: indeed, a lot are obese.

I live in Reno/Sparks, Nevada; and there are colonies of them here. And I don't mean to imply that they aren't nice peopel, because most of them are.

But they are nearly all overwieht. Why is this? Genetic? Is that possible?

Can anyone give me a good, rational explanation for this phenomenon?

A very curious,

Wotan

I am absolutely appalled at your responses. There's nothing in my question to infer that I'm racist. The Indians here are not poor nor oppresed. They have their own colony, free medical care, subsidized housing and income.Most of your resposes represents to me those of prejudicial if not simply diseased minds. If you had read my question carefully, you would have noted that I stated 90-95% were overweight: this is not the national average which is approximately 2/3s of the population; 1/3 is obese. I'm not going to pick a Best answer, because there isn't one. I asked for a rational explanation, and all I got was a lot of irrational spewing of venemous malcontent, those who are eager to dump their psychological garbage. Shame on you.

Sunday morning,11-25-07,7:30 A.M.,P.S.T.:I've decided after reviewing the 10 answers that were posted, to put the question to a vote; I gave 5 of your answers "Thumbs Down", and will acknowledge that 5 were rational attempts to explain the notated phenomenon in my question.

For the 5 genuinely sincere efforts, I thank you, much appreciate them; they were informative and I might even say enlightening. Again, thank you.

For the other 5, I will only reiterate what I said in the additional details: shame on you; had you read my question carefully it is context, you in no way could legitimately claim it to be "racist" or "offensive", the accusations of such, I deeply resent.

But enough, I'm putting the question up for voting.

Answer 1

why the **** does it matter? if they enjoy their food let them, why does it involve your concern?

Answer 2

Fat Native American

Answer 3

Everyone processes calories differently. If one person extracts 100% of the calories out of the same food that another person gets 50% then they need to eat less. I believe that the criminal behavior of the US Government towards the American Indian, left the survivors who could live on the least amount of food, i.e. the 100%ers. IMHO.

Answer 4

The reason why native americans are overweight is because when white people forced them on the reserves the government gave the natives the cheapest foods to eat (flour, canola oil, sugar, salt, lard) and that s pretty much all they had to eat, (hunting wasn t allowed) witched caused diabetes and other health problems that got passed down generations

Answer 5

You're exaggerating. Plus the whole "thrifty gene" that another person mentioned was disproved. It's true that some ethnic groups like Mongolians, Eskimos, and Polynesians tend to have more body fat than others, but that doesn't mean they're always obese or overweight. On the other hand, some ethnic groups like the South Sudanese, Somalis, and Australian Aborigines tend have less body fat than others, but that doesn't mean they don't have the capability to be overweight or obese.

Answer 6

Actually, there IS a rational explanation for this phenomenon. I have been doing research on them for a project I'm working on, and it is similar to the reason for the excessive overweight conditions of natives on the South Sea Islands, including Hawaii. The reasoning has to do with the migration process. Since migration (either on the sea in ships or overland) causes extreme hardship and often starvation, it is the people with extra fat deposits that are generally the survivors under these conditions. Since the Native Americans migrated here long ago from China and Russia via the land bridge over the Bering Straits, these same hardships happened to them, as well. This 'culling' process caused the survivors to be more genetically predisposed to fat. Sad, but true. If you read any of the research done about shipwreck survival stresses, you will see the same issue there. And, yes, I know that this is not a racist issue, but simply a question of curiosity and a need to understand.

Answer 7

to be honest, trad american indian food is super lean and healthy. squash, peas, beans, roasted deer ,poultry, unrefined corn, spinach... all great choices for weight loss/fitness. so when Turkey Day comes around....eat like Running Bear! seriously, ive seen drawings/images of these beings before american poverty, they were slim and looked fantastic. and to all the haters preaching 'corn makes you fat' bullcrap! i eat grits 2-3x a week and im size 0/2 but i exercise like a mad man so.....its all about cals in/out. burn 1200 you can eat 1500

Answer 8

I think every human on earth has the genetic capability to be over weight. Considering the active lifestyles of Amerindian people prior to European involvement and oppression, it's quite clear that the modern Native American has to deal with stress, lack of nutrition and poverty. And I'm not talking lack of nutrition as in complete starvation, I'm talking eating the wrong foods. It's cheaper to buy foods that are not good for you, than it is to buy healthy foods.

Depression is also a factor. It's a factor in any group of people that have been oppressed for a long period of time, no matter their race. Depression can lead to obesity.

You can examine humanity the world over and find that these factors will contribute to obesity in any race group. In the South US, a region known for having a historical population of marginalized Whites, obesity is very common among Whites. The traditional cuisine of the South has contributed the obesity across the races.

Answer 9

Its the alcohol the whiteman introduced to us and after the residential schools all of my people were hurt and distressed and thats what it came down to, not to mention that alcohol is a fattening 'drink' . But yet again their is a lot of sober and successful native people out there and my family is not at all obese or fat. we live normal healthy lives.

Answer 10

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Answer 11

Not gonna lie, I found this rather offensive but I've learned to accept the ignorance of most white people. NOT BEING RACIST. just kidding, i was mocking you but I'm being serious.
anyway, a reason for that is they used to have a very healthy, balanced and traditional diet; including vegetables, berries, meat, fish etc.
Its hard to explain but once modern times took a twist, so did their diet.
For the record, Most of the native americans i know are skinny as hell. Including my best friend, who is naturally thin and absolutely beautiful.
and btw, most of the obese people I've seen were white. about 30% of natives were overweight.